FASTRAC Project

Description

Judge Joe is a senior executive engineer from Lockheed Martin, a private aerospace company. Judge Joe has no direct contact with the FASTRAC team until the team presentation during the January competition.

Scenario

The competition is about 1 week away. Judge Joe has just received the FASTRAC technical documents and the URL for the mission web site. He browses the web site for 15-20 minutes before diving into the technical documents, which is where his interest really lies. Judge Joe looks first for an executive memo and/or mission summary so that he can get a clear idea of what the mission is all about. An executive memo is typical documentation developed by aerospace engineers. He also looks for evidence of community outreach since that is an important aspect of the FASTRAC program.

Goal-Directed

• Find and read executive memo (technical).
• Find and read mission summary (general).
• Find and read information about outreach (educational) initiatives.

Serendipitous

• Find and browse latest news.
• Find and browse other information.

Information Needs

• What has the FASTRAC team accomplished?
• Has the team achieved their mission objectives?
• How does this team's accomplishments compare to the competition?

Description

FASTRAC Freddy is an aerospace graduate student working towards a Ph.D. He is helping to build the two nanosatellites for the FASTRAC competition.

Scenario 1

The competition is only 1 month away. FASTRAC Freddy is working feverishly to assemble his parts of nanosatellite number one. One of the bolts is not fitting where he thinks it should go. He consults the private FASTRAC site to download the most recent nanosat diagram. He needs to double-check where he is to put the bolt.

Scenario 2

The competition is over and the FASTRAC team won! The FASTRAC team has decided to make public all of the private documents (with the exception of a few) used to build the nanosatellites. FASTRAC Freddy is responsible for making those documents public.

Tasks

Goal-Directed

• Upload documents.
• Search for documents.
• Download documents.
• Make private documents public.
• Add/Delete FASTRAC team member as user.
• Add/Delete an Amateur Radio Operator as user.
• Maintain (add/edit/delete content) public site.
• Schedule ground station.
• Manage satellite settings.

Information Needs

• I need to find a specific document.
• I need to contact other team members.
• I need to share a document with other team members.
• I need to update an existing document.
• I want to add/delete an authenticated user.
• I want to update the public site with new content.
• I want to manage the accounts of radio operators.

Description

Radio Ricky is a retired scientist who builds radios and satellite tracking stations in his backyard. He talks to other amateur radio operators in his spare time and sends them postcards afterwards. He also belongs to the AMSAT radio operator organization, which controls the radio frequencies available to be used by amateur radio operators. He loves recognition as a member of this hobby organization.

Scenario 1

Radio Ricky has heard at his latest AMSAT meeting that the University of Texas is building two nanosatellites. If launched, they will need help downloading data from the satellite for about 3 months after launch. He also heard that after the 3 months has passed, he can use the satellites for communication like he does other satellites. He gets online to see if he can find the FASTRAC web site. He wonders when the satellites will be launched and exactly how he can help out.

Scenario 2

The FASTRAC satellites are now in space. Radio Ricky wants to help collect data. He looks for instructions on how to collect the data and how to give the data to the FASTRAC team.

Tasks

Goal-Directed

• Look for program specifics.
• Look for technical documentation.
• Look for photos and other media.
• Locate nanosatellite schedule.
• Locate upload instructions.
• Pre-register to upload data after launch.
• Upload satellite data.
• View existing satellite data uploads.

Serendipitous

• Find and browse latest news.
• Find and browse program sponsors.

Information Needs

• What are the specifics of the FASTRAC nanosatellite?
• How can I interact with this satellite or program?
• Where are instructions for participating with the FASTRAC program?
• Where are instructions for uploading my data?
• What other radio operators are uploading data?

Description

Educator Ellen has been teaching physics to 11th graders for 10 years. She keeps up with local things going on in the field of physics and science. She likes to supplement her lessons with neat projects, especially if they have local relevance. Local events always provide opportunities for guest speakers and/or field trips. In fact, she regularly checks out the Utopia site on the University of Texas web site for possible lessons.

Scenario

Educator Ellen found a lesson plan posted by the FASTRAC team. It describes how to build a cardboard model of a nanosatellite that the team is building in order to send to space. She thinks this would make a great lesson for her physics students and downloads the lesson plan. She also links to the FASTRAC web site so that she can find out more information and determine if her students might be able to see the real nanosatellites.

Tasks

Goal-Directed

• Locate educational content, such as lesson plans, events, photos, etc.
• Locate contact information.

Serendipitous

• Find and browse information about educational activities at other schools.

Information Needs

• What educational resources are available through this program?
• Who did I contact if I am interested in a field trip or presentation?

Description

Student Stephanie is a 10th grader at a school in SC. Being interested in outer space, she often searches online for space topics.

Scenario

Student Stephanie has to do a science paper. She remembers reading about a school in Texas that sent "homemade" satellites into space. She searches for their web site and looks for information on their project. She worries that she might not understand enough of about it to write her science paper. She looks for pictures and videos.

Tasks

Goal-Directed

• Look for interesting pictures,movies, etc.

Serendipitous

• Find and read educational articles.
• Find links to other resources.

Information Needs

• What is a nanosatellite?
• What is the FASTRAC nanosatellite?
• What does the FASTRAC satellite look like? How does it work?
• What does an aerospace engineer do?
• Where can I find more information?

Description

Aerospace Andy is a senior marketing executive at Lockheed Martin. He looks for new and interesting PR opportunities.

Scenario

A senior engineer at Lockheed Martin has been contacted by a student organization at UT called FASTRAC. They have built 2 nanosatellites to conduct research on a new technology developed at UT. They are looking for an aerospace company to launch their nanosats. Aerospace Andy has been tasked with looking into the FASTRAC team more and determining if such a project will benefit Lockheed's current PR efforts in any way.

Tasks

Goal-Directed

• Look for summary information.
• Look for news articles.
• Look for media kit.
• Look for photos and other media.

Serendipitous

• Browse general information.

Information Needs

• Will helping FASTRAC help my company increase revenue?
• How can FASTRAC create good PR for my company

Description

Press Priscilla is an Austin TV reporter. She keeps her eyes open for local, feel-good news opportunities.

Scenario

Press Priscilla received information from the UT FASTRAC team that they've just won a prestigious competition. She might want to do a story on them for the local news, so she looks up their web site for more information. She needs to find their media kit and get a general understanding for what this team does. She is looking for her news story angle.

Tasks

Goal-directed

• Look for media kit
• Download media kit.
• Look for recent news releases.
• Look for press releases.
• Look for name and contact info for media contact.

Serendipitous

• Browse general project information.

Information Needs

• What is newsworthy about this project?
• Where are the press releases?
• Who can I contact for more information?

Description

Ground Station Sam is a aerospace graduate student at The University of California. He collaborates with other universities on aerospace technologies.

Scenario

Ground Station Sam is responsible for scheduling the University of California ground station to view the UT satellites that are going to be launched into space in the next couple of weeks. He needs instructions and contact information.

Tasks

Goal-Directed

• Schedule ground station to upload satellite data.
• Look for instructions.
• Look for contact information.

Serendipitous

• Browse project documentation.

Information Needs

• I want to see the ground station schedule.
• I want to add to the ground station schedule.
• I want to examine the technical documentation for this project.

Description

Recruitable Roy has just received his BS degree from UT. He is applying to the aerospace engineering graduate program at UT.

Scenario

Recruitable Roy wants to learn about the FASTRAC program. He is interested in becoming a participant in the program.

Tasks

Goal-Directed

• Look for student profiles of current FASTRAC team members.
• Look for contact information.

Serendipitous

• Find and browse general project information.
• Find links to other resources.

Information Needs

• What kind of experience does this program offer?
• How can I get involved in this program?

Description

Public Penny is an Austin woman in her mid 40s. She likes to keep up with local events and browses the UT web site about once a week.

Scenario

Public Penny finds an article on the UT home page about a prestigious award won by the aerospace engineering students. She takes the link to their web site in order to learn a little more information about the project and award.

Tasks

Serendipitous

• Find and browse summaries.
• Find and browse pictures and other media.
• Find and browse educational articles.
• Find links to other resources.

Information Needs

• What is a nanosatellite?
• What is the FASTRAC nanosatellite?
• What does the FASTRAC satellite look like? How does it work?
• What does an aerospace engineer do?
• Where can I find more information?